The Difference Between Free and Priceless
by Spider9x
Summary: Completed. Feeling a little too stuffy for comfort when Kurapika, Gon and Killua visit Leorio at his apartment, Leorio purchases a fan and gets a very strange free gift. Pointless and some ooc-ness.
1. Chapter 1

**The Difference Between Free and Priceless**

**Summary:** Feeling a little too stuffy for comfort when Kurapika, Gon and Killua visit Leorio at his apartment, Leorio purchases a fan and gets a very strange free gift. Pointless and some ooc-ness one shot/ more

**Disclaimer: **Togashi is the great man who owns all these characters.

* * *

It had never been an easy task for Leorio to resist his urge to bargain. Even if the price was perfectly reasonable and going any any lower would be equivalent to day light robbery.

Well, not exactly daylight since it was almost six in the evening. Leorio's stomach growled in response to the time of the day. He needed to end this quickly and get some food to placate his bear of a stomach.

"I'll give you twenty one Jenny (the currency) for it-- you can get rid of this fan and i can go off to have dinner. How does that sound?"

"That's way too little, young man! Twenty five Jenny is the lowest i can go. " the old lady placed a hand on the object of interest firmly, fearful that Leorio would make away with the second hand table top fan without any warning.

Leorio gave a loud sigh.. He jiggled the coins in his right pocket and grudgingly took out the money. Prissy Kurapika was definitely going to bug him endlessly if he returned empty handed.

With four boys occupying the small apartment Leorio had rented during his studies at the university, the heat was honestly unbearable when all four of them happened to be in the same room at the same time.

Which was highly probable because the apartment only had a single room and a toilet.

Gon and Killua probably wouldn't mind the heat that much, but they were the main contributors towards the rise in temperature with all their over-activeness in the form of pointless games, namely eating tournaments, tower stacking competitions (using Leorio's medicine books) and more.

The latest one had been particularly troublesome for Leorio because it involved getting as many neighbours as possible to knock at their door in alarm. Kurapika had won that challenge when he demonstrated his battle cry should he ever see Kuroro on the streets.

Rather than risk dying from a heat stroke or Kurapika's wrath, Leorio decided to purchase an 'efficient cooling device' as Kurapika had requested.

Leorio rarely had visitors to his humble abode and he had been extremely delighted when not just one, but all three of his buddies from the hunter exam popped up unexpectedly at his doorstep one hot afternoon, asking to stay for a week or so. After that day, afternoons were no longer just hot, but to the point of boiling since all the lazy bums did was to stay indoors and watch television.

Still, as a polite host is obliged to, Leorio deemed it his responsibility that his guests were comfortable and enjoyed their stay. This sense of responsibility subsequently brought our hero to the only electronic store in town with the shop keeper who was immune to his excellent bargaining skills.

Or not.

Leorio's distressed face must have invoked a sense of pity in the shop keeper because the very next second after he had sighed and fished out the money, Leorio blinked and found himself awkwardly cradling a large glass bowl containing water and some pebbles. In his right arm, he held the table fan with the wire neatly wound around the stem. Leorio glanced in shock at the old lady who was already keeping the twenty five Jenny in a cash register.

"Just a freebie, now shoo and stop gaping at me" she waved a hand dismissively.

Upon closer scrutiny while leaving the shop, Leorio spied a single, tiny reddish creature, no bigger than his thumb nail, in the glass bowl. It was nibbling at a pebble.

Watching Leorio's hunched profile as he made his way out, the old lady shook her head in disapproval. "Young people these days... Can't they wait a few more years before starting a family and have kids? Why, he barely had enough money to feed himself, much less his wife and kids," She poked with her bony finger, a middle aged man with his eyes glued to the television to get his attention. "And wearing that strange tuxedo outfit when he's too broke to buy a brand new fan, in such weather too! He must be out of his mind! You listening, Shinji?"

Shinji nodded mutely in reply.

Leorio felt an urge to scream. He did not just pay four Jenny more than his intended price for a glass bowl, a few coloured pebbles and a silly fighting fish. That package should have cost two Jenny more at the most. Still, the stares and whispers Leorio was already getting behind his back strongly discouraged him from drawing more attention to himself.

The fish was too small to be eaten but it might entertain the young ones at his house. His house, where Kurapika, Gon, and Killua were waiting. Where dinner was waiting.

With that, Leorio skipped home whistling a random tune. The trail of water he had joyously left behind shimmered a brilliant orange in the flaming reflection from the setting sun.

To be continued...?

* * *

**A/N:** Have you ever wondered why on earth Togashi drew Leorio with that fighting fish/guppy for volume 19? I'm pretty sure the chimera ants pack a lot more meanness than a fish..

Next chapter (if i get down to writing it) the boys name the fish and Leorio takes a bath while something more exciting happens outside the bathroom.

Anyway if you've noticed, i'm kinda experimenting with a few writing styles but i never stray far from heavy narration. So please tell me what you think! =)


	2. Chapter 2

**The Difference Between Free and Priceless**

**Summary:** The boys name the newest member of the house and Kurapika makes his stand known on a certain topic.

**Chapter 2**

The blast of warm air, which came from within the house as Leorio opened the door, fogged up his glasses and rendered him blind for a moment. That short vulnerable moment was not missed by Killua who threw the nearest pillow at the taller man who was struggling to take off his glasses and close the door. With both arms full.

Unfortunately, the pillow did not drop onto the floor after hitting it's target.

"Someone quick!" Leorio gasped, "Get the pillow out of the glass bowl, quick! It's soaking up the water and i have already split a lot on the way back!"

Two pairs of hands reached out eagerly to help.

"Holy cow! The fish is swallowing a loose thread from the pillow cover, you can't get it out without risking it's life!"

"Cut the thread, now," Killua suggested.

Gon slid a finger into what was left of the water in the bowl and with great accuracy, gently pressed the fish against the side and slowly tugged the swallowed portion of the thread out of the fish's ever open mouth.

"There you go! I used to pull the hooks out of the fish mouths all the time at Whale Island. A thread is so much easier to deal with." Gon wiped his hands on his pants and grinned at Leorio.

Just then, Kurapika stepped out of the bathroom. He studied the scene before him and said, "I see that you have bought a fan, let's get it set up. It's like an oven in here."

"Oi, we just had a near death experience here and all you can mention is the temperature?"

"Nope, i was also wondering if you would be able to sleep well tonight since the fishy smell is not going to disappear from your pillow unless you change it."

Killua put on his most innocent face and continued unwinding the wire from the fan while Leorio, having realised that the absence of a kitchen meant there was no dinner, scowled and cleared a space on the table for the newest member of the house.

"Ne, Leorio, why did you get a fish? I figured you were more of a cat person." Gon placed the newly refilled bowl on the table and proceeded to terrorise the little red fish by taking the pebbles out and throwing them back in.

Killua joined in, "Yea, i never liked fish, they die too easily and some have the strange habit of jumping out of their aquarium for no particular reason. Mother would freak out every time the piranhas at our house did that."

Leorio didn't know whether to laugh or point out that keeping men-eating pets in a house was more than enough to terrify any mother so he did neither. "My god-like bargaining skills earned me the fish. The shop keeper was so unwilling to part with her darling but i managed to talk her out of it, along with selling me this fan at a good price."

Kurapika lifted an eyebrow. "I'm surprised that people here actually love their pets to the extent that the pet can be made a gift to random customers." He frowned at Leorio, "Or perhaps she was just looking for a fool to come along and release her from her task of feeding the fish." Kurapika nodded to himself gravely, convinced that Leorio was a fool.

"Why you---" Leorio checked himself, a host must never be rude to his guests. No matter they did or said. Good friends, however, were entitled to insulting each other through interesting ways. Plus the more he thought about it, the more Kurapika's analysis seemed right, though Leorio would never openly admit it.

"Anyway, since the fish was _given _to me, i have the right to name it. So from this moment onwards," Leorio turned towards the fish, pausing dramatically, "Your name shall be Pika, in honour of the person who hasn't even glanced at you since the second you were brought into this house hold."

"Pika chan!" Gon tapped the glass bowl excitedly, "You have a name, Pika chan!"

Killua smirked " There are so many similarities! Like how Kurapika and Pika both have red in them and -cough- gender issues. Ne, Leorio, do you know if Pika is a male or female? It's so hard to tell just by looking.."

"I'm not sure either... But to make things easier why don't we let Pika follow the gender or his or her human counterpart?"

There was an awkward pause. During which Killua continued throwing well aimed pebbles back into the bowl.

-Plonk-

Kurapika was dignified enough not to say anything

-Clang- -Plop- Whoops, that pebble went off course and hit the glass before dropping into the water.

Gon piped up "Generally, female fish have more attractive colours and smaller fin sizes than the males, but i am not sure if it applies to this specific species.." The four of them observed the petite and crimsom coloured fish frolicking in it's own lalaland among the pebbles, coming to a slightly disturbing conclusion which no one dared to voice out.

"Pika is most. definitely. fully. truly. a male. There shall be no more doubts or discussions regarding his gender from this point on." Kurapika snapped and turned back to the oscillating fan, trying to cool his anger and embarrassment.

Satisfied that Kurapika had finally acknowledged the fish, Leorio announced that he was going to take a quick shower and they would all have dinner at a nearby eatery. Pika the _male_ fish, however sadly, had to stay behind. But that was okay because the person he was named after would eat like a _man_ and finish up every thing on the plate, including Pika's portion. Ain't that just _masculine_!

Kurapika replied by throwing Leorio's still damp pillow so hard at his owner that the pillow bounced off and landed on the wet toilet floor.

For the 'N'th time that day, Leorio resisted his urge to scream.

~To be continued~

**A/N:** I can't believe i spent a whole chapter talking about the Pika chan. The naming process took longer than i expected so i have to push Leorio's bath to the next chapter. If you find that this whole thing is becoming too senseless, I assure you that the next chapter will be the finale!

If not, you could always submit a review to let me know and i might add an epilogue XD


	3. Chapter 3

**The difference Between Free and Priceless**

**Chapter 3**

Gon and Killua were bored out of their minds. Kurapika seemed perfectly happy with gazing aimlessly at the setting sun and angst-ing in his super model pose, leaning against the window.

The apartment was quiet, save for the refreshing sound of flowing water since Leorio was taking a bath. Just a while ago, he had been singing 'I Am A Rock', much to the amusement of his guests and had gotten so loud during the chorus that Killua couldn't help shouting "Oi, old man, won't the soap get into your mouth?"

That did the trick since Leorio had conveniently forgotten, in the excitement of exercising his vocals chords, that he was not alone in the house. Leorio clamped his mouth shut, hoped fervently that he had at least sung in tune and continued to shampoo his hair.

Gon returned his attention back to Pika-chan who was gaping at nothing in particular. Sounding overly concerned about the fish he had just met and named a few minutes ago, Gon commented out loud, "I wonder if Leorio has any food to feed Pika-chan.. It- I mean he looks famished." He stole a look at Kurapika and sighed in relief when the boy seemed to be engrossed in the scenery outside.

"Guess not, the old man would have gobbled down any food in the house and probably remember to feed Pika-chan only once a month or two." Killua transformed his hand into the ghastly one with razor sharp nails and back again repeatedly, looking anything but interested.

"Hmm.." Gon pouted and traced his finger along the glass bowl. Pika-chan followed the finger eagerly for a while before realising that it was not food. He then retreated to the furthest end away from the offending unattainable temptation.

"Ne! Kurapika, i heard you obtained a really rare treasure just last month," Killua tried not to show too much enthusiasm in his voice, "Care to let us take a look?"

Kurapika continued scrutinizing the clouds.

Killua lifted an eyebrow "Kurapika, did you hear me?" he spoke a little louder this time.

"I think you missed out '_please_'," Gon whispered to Killua, moving to sit beside his best friend on the bed, "and don't forget to say '_with a cherry on top_' too."

The white hair boy paused thoughtfully and shook his head, the all too familiar feline smile playing on his lips. He proceeded to carry out a more efficient plan to get Kurapika's attention.

"SPIDER! THERE'S A TARANTULA ON YOU, GON! OMG HELP!!"

Without warning, a shadow pounced onto a very puzzled and shocked Gon and forced the poor boy face down into the bedsheets.

"Where. Is. The .Ssp-spider." Kurapika sputtered on the last word, ruining his ferocious look.

-o-

It had taken a minute for Killua to explain his prank (Gon was still looking for the spider), another minute for Kurapika's eyes to revert back to their original teal shade and twice as long for him to fish out the item which Killua had gone through so much trouble to request.

"It's called the Red Teardrop, the one and only of it's kind in the world." Kurapika explained, gently placing the translucent crimson pearl onto Gon's palms. It caught the dying rays of the setting sun and lit up the otherwise dreary room brilliantly.

Killua and Gon examined the precious pearl closely.

"Ne, Killua, do you think..... it will fit into your nose?"

"Hmm, wanna try?"

That officially marked the start of the who-can-stuff-the-pearl-into-opponent's-nose-or-ear challenge.

Amidst the shouts and exclamations while Gon and Killua wrestled with one another, Kurapika was very amused. Obtaining the pearl was a task given to him by his latest boss, a jewellery expert owning all sorts of rare and precious gems. He could not imagine the grim old man touching anything which had been in and out of Killua or Gon's nose. He made a mental note not to wipe the pearl.

Kurapika grabbed a chair and sat down to enjoy the show. What would he give for some popcorn right then!

The wrestle had inched closer to the bed and with a mock kick to the groin, Killua managed to trick Gon into falling onto the bed. However, Gon took advantage of Killua's negligence while he was falling to swing the other boy down and he ended up restraining both Killua's hands above Killua's head against the bed with his right hand, all the while holding the Red Teardrop in the other.

"Hehe," Without delay, Gon's left hand swung down swiftly-- aiming for Killua's nose.

At the last second, Killua's right hand succeeded in freeing itself from Gon's iron grasp and blocked Gon's incoming assault with a force hard enough to break the boy's wrist. Of course, no bones were broken. Though the Red Teardrop flew out of Gon's fingers and went flying.

In that one moment where time stood still and all were rooted to their positions, the red tear drop was the only object in motion; sailing with elegance, cutting through the still air in a perfect curve and landing gracefully -Plop- into the glass bowl which was also Pika's humble abode.

As the precious jewel made it's graceful descent to join the pebbles at the bottom, it's journey was promptly intercepted by a famished Pika-chan which swallowed it whole without as much as a single blink. The sparkle disappeared and the room was thrown into it's original darkness once again.

The three horrified boys looked at each other, unable to believe what Pika had just eaten for dinner.

"Hey it's awfully quiet out there, are you guys making out?"

Leorio swung open the door and stepped out.

All it took was a single glance at the bed and the two boys sprawled on it to tell Leorio that he had interrupted at a very bad time. As bad as the sexual orientation of two of his closest friends whom he treated like real brothers. As bad as being locked in the same closet as Hisoka when he was in his -slanty eye laugh to the moon- mode.

At the sound of Leorio's brainless comment, the three boys whipped their heads around to look at the older man with oddly similar looks on their faces. Shock, guilt, imploring, shyness, terror.... All these emotions were painting a very possible but disturbing image in Leorio's confused mind.

_Ee-eee-eeaa-aa-akkk_

Unfortunately, this precious and touching moment of male bonding using only eye contact was disrupted by an agonizing creak from the table fan as it reached the end of an oscillation. It jolted our heroes out of their trance and Leorio immediately disappeared back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

Leorio came to the conclusion that he had unknowingly made quite an accurate prediction. Teenage boys do not usually pin each other down on the bed, facing each other, looking like they enjoyed it. Recalling the sounds of laughter earlier, yup. They were certainly having _a lot_ of fun. Even Kurapika had laughed loudly enough to be heard through the walls. Something fishy was definitely out there.. (pun intended -_-)

He grabbed a towel and started to dry his hair furiously.

_Oh dammit, how on earth did Gon manage to look both guilty and innocent at the same time?! He was... on top.._

Leorio's face was receiving a very thorough scrub.

_And Kurapika! H-he was hugging a pillow and smiling just like those creepy fangirls at the annual anime fairs!!_

_Killua actually looked scared! The only time he looked even the least bit frightened was when Illumi popped out during the hunter exam.. So this means that Gon.... Illumi?_

A mental scream ensued.

-o-

The four of them did eventually go out for dinner, albeit a very silent one.

Gon swallowed the last bit of his chicken. _I hope Pika-chan's doing fine, the Red Teardrop was as big itself! Oh no! Pika-chan's gonna explode!_

_That old man Leorio must be thinking dirty thoughts, what a fool. I bet he'll be trying to lecture us about puberty and sex tomorrow. _Killua poked at his vegetables listlessly.

_The fish shall have to die in order to retrieve the Teardrop. _Kurapika sipped his drink and looked at the moon with a hint of sadness. _It was a mistake on my side, I apologise.... Pika-chan._

Leorio solemnly ordered more food.

No one had bothered to clear the misunderstanding until Leorio brought them to a yaoi convention full of screaming fangirls the very next day.

~End~

**A/N:** Longest chapter of the three. Cookies for anyone who spots the little Saiyuki reference i made ehehe.. XD

Edit: Sorry for the spelling mistakes!


	4. Chapter 4

**The Difference Between Free and Priceless**

**Note:** Please adjust your mental voice to two octaves higher than the normal pitch when reading the italicized words in this chapter. Now you're ready =D

Fishes are such simplistic creatures – Spider9

-o-

_Happy, happy, me happy! _

_Happy, happy, me happy!_ (repeats ten times) -breaks off to nibble a very hard piece of cheese which was actually a yellow pebble-

_Happy, happy – whoops what was i thinking about just now?_

_Oh well, hungry! Food food foooooooood~ _

_Wait! Why is it so dark suddenly! _

Pika swam around furiously, staying as close to the bottom as possible to avoid being thrown out. The glass bowl was in Leorio's arms as he skipped home (chapter one)

_Whales help me~ it's a waterquake! -_distraught-

..........

A few moments before Gon fished the loose thread out from Pika's gaping mouth... (chapter two)

_Oooh food! Is that spaghetti i see dangling in front of me?_ -ignores the tremors and loud sounds coming from the heavens above and gulps it down-

_In-invader alert!_

_Nooo don't touch me! _

_Hihihi, it tickles! Stop pulling out what I've eaten, it's grroooosss!_

_............_

Regarding Gon's finger as he traced it against the glass bowl.. (chapter three)

_That's a really big earthworm! Mama once warned me to stay away from these kind of things..._

Pika swam as far as he could, away from the source of danger.

Some time later...

_Oh, OH! A SPARKLY RED JAM BUN _-swallows it without any hesitation-

_I feel... kinda bloated. _-burps-

-End of Pika's POV-

"Hey, I'm really sorry guys," Leorio was almost down to his knees, "I only wanted it to be an educational trip, honestly!"

Kurapika continued walking, ignoring the taller man who was desperate for forgiveness.

"Nah Leorio, we're not angry at all. But it just brought to our attention what an 'imaginative' mind you have." Killua patted Leorio on the back reassuringly.

"But I guess, it's a perfectly normal way of thinking for old and unattached men."

Gon pranced around smiling widely, "Wasn't that just amazing?! Ne, ne! The concept of 'seme' and 'uke' is so exciting!"

-o-

It was an impossible request. Leorio studied medicine, that he couldn't deny. But asking him to perform a surgery at that point in time was way too early, way beyond his abilities.

"And I'm not a vet! I don't even think vets take fishes as patients anyway!" Leorio argued loudly.

Kurapika glared at him. "I did not ask you to cut and stitch up the fish after removing the Red Teardrop. All i wanted from you was a sterilised scalpel and a rough indication of where the pearl should be at this point in time, _doctor._"

"Wh-what are you trying to do? There's no way Pika can be saved if a scalpel is involved." Leorio gulped and looked gravely at the crimson fish which was almost motionless due to the indigestible weight in his stomach.

Materialising his chains, Kurapika smiled. His holy chain, especially when enhanced, should be capable of saving Pika if he healed the fish immediately after extracting what he wanted.

To aid him in maintaining his crimson eye state, Kurapika had sent Gon and Killua out to capture a spider. By that, he meant the eight legged creature, not the human.

_Don't worry, Pika-chan, we will not let you die._

-o-

There is no price attached to free or priceless items, for very different reasons. However, the thin line which exists in between is easily transcended. For, memories and experiences are invaluable and these are what determine the real worth of it all.

**~End~**

**A/N:** That's it, folks! XD I wish to thank all who have read and reviewed the story, i really, truly appreciate them =)

Chapter 3 was supposed to be the last you see of this story but i thought it was quite mean to leave Pika-chan to die so yup, an extra chapter to wrap things up. Of course, we can only hope that Gon and Killua do not misinterpret and return with Kuroro or Hisoka. LOL

Last but not least, do try out my Ouran fanfic if you are a fan of the series and have time to spare!


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